Main menu

People of The Jinx

The most commonly used tag on hissing lawns? “The Jinx”. Savannah’s only establishment that is dedicated pretty much full time to live music and related activities, The Jinx is, in a word, awesome. Absolutely no disrespect intended to other venues of any sort (hell, I think we need more venues), but let’s be honest, the old Velvet Elvis is the physical hub of much of the over 21 music scene in the Hostess City. An actual stage, a laid back vibe, a punching machine, $5 house special of a tall boy PBR and a shot of Wild Turkey, tv’s playing weird ass cult classics, Rock n Roll Bingo, crazy memorabilia, absurd knick knacks, everything just somehow adds up to cool.

The thing that really makes The Jinx so unique, though? The people. A mix of city/underbelly/music/alternative/arty/biker/godknowswhatelse people, on the best nights it feels communal, and on others, well….just weird. As a huge music nerd, I’ve spent my fair share of time at “SAVANNAH’S FAVORITE BOOZERY AND MUSIQUARIUM” interacting with both the community and the weirdos. Doing some quick math, I’d say I’ve been to 127 W Congress Street a little over 400 times, and drank in excess of 1500 tall boy PBR’s.

So, for no real reason at all, here’s a list (people like lists, right?) of 100ish types of people you may run into at a show, or bingo, or hip hop night, or a Damon and the Shitkickers happy hour, or, well, you get the idea.

45. Tony. Winner of Savannah’s Best Bartender multiple times, he may have skinned an enormous alligator earlier in the day before he punched a carburetor hole in the top of your ice cold PBR.

46. Parents of band member. Seriously, how fucking cool is that?

47. Super tall guy.

48. Birthday person. Happy Birthday! Enjoy that hangover tomorrow!

49. On the phone during the show jerk. You want to step outside or should we have the band be quiet for a few minutes?

50. Crust punks outside. I feel bad for the dog. Seriously.

51. Biker. Whoa! They have a Harley shop in Myrtle Beach/Daytona/Sturgis?

52. Local musician who played an earlier set around town, and is now at The Jinx to cheer on/screw with their friends who are currently playing.

53. So insanely good at their instrument that it’s hard to look away band member. Holy shit.

54. Crazy good looking band member. Also hard to look away from.

55. Military guy/girl. Hey, thanks.

56. Mystery farter. What did you eat? You should maybe think about seeing a doctor about that.

57. Singing every word person. We get it, you know the words.

58. Soundcheck stickler. For the love of all that is holy, just play already.

59. Super into the movie dude. Big Trouble in Little China, Six String Samurai, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Escape From New York, they play some amazing cult classics on the two sets over the bar. I once saw Dead Alive distract approximately half of the crowd.

60. Order overly complicated drink on a busy night idiot. Ugh.

61. Androgynous person.

62. The one guy in the entire world who wants to fight at a Mountain Goats show.

63. Backpack guy. I don’t know what’s in there, must be super important.

64. Run of the mill hipster.

65. Fresh tattoo guy/girl.

66. Guy whose defining feature is his beard. Man, I’ll be honest, I don’t know how you made it through the summer with that thing.

67. Old guy in Tommy Bahama. Hmmm, okay, whatever.

68. Local rock/entertainment rag/blog goons. Be nice to them.

69. Heh. “69”.

70. Poor guy that has no choice but to poop at The Jinx. Why is there a line to the men’s room? Oh, uh, sorry bro, that sucks.

75. Local F + B person who is literally only there to hit up what may be the last functioning cigarette machine on earth.

76. That one chick that really, really, really wants someone to dance with her. Actually overheard: “I’m a truck driver, and I’m only in town one night”. She definitely was looking for someone to dance with. Wow.

77. Stand in front of the bar door person. You know that spot between the water jug and the trash can at the bathroom end of the bar? Don’t stand there.

78. Reeks of weed guy. Yo, did you just have sex with a skunk?

79. Super hung over guy. Hope it was EPIC, dude.

80. We’ve got a baby sitter and look out, we’re getting drunk couple.

81. Fist pumper/devil horns thrower. Rock on, my friend, rock on.

83. Leaves before the headliner individual. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this as widespread in another city. Weird.

84. Heckler. A rarity, thankfully. I do occasionally like to throw out a “Play something heavy!” most of the way through an insanely heavy set myself, though.

85. Ear piercing whistler person. At some point, this guy/gal realized they could whistle painfully loud, now they just wait for opportunities to prove it.

88. Barefoot person in the pit. Seems like a bad choice to me. I saw a girl do the “Worm” on the floor once, too. That’s definitely a bad choice.

89. Larry Jack. He’s back, there’s nothing else going on.

90. Local business person whose happy hour turned EPIC. Can turn into a liability late night.

91. Makeout couple, like really going at it. Everyone else is either grossed out or laughing, so, you know, get a room.

92. The audiophile. Yes, I hear the buzzing. Yeah, maybe the mix could be better, I guess. Maybe if we move to the center of the room…you know what, dude? I was enjoying this before talking to you.

93. High school band guy just happy to still be playing in a band. Almost all horn players in a ska band fall into this category.

94. Wearing the shirt of the band that is playing person. Props for the enthusiasm, I guess, but unless you bought that shirt at this show and don’t want to hold it, uhhh, faux pas.

95. The occasional crowd surfer.

Okay, show’s over, and unless Gil’s setting up Scaryoake, it’s pretty much time to go home. Pour your drink into one of those clear cups stacked by the door and get out. Don’t drink and drive, Uber’s cheap. Be safe. See you next time.